The present invention relates generally to a manner by which to alert a user of a mobile station, such as a WAP (wireless access protocol) cellular terminal of an occurrence of a triggering event at a remote location. More particularly, the present invention relates to apparatus, and an associated method, by which automatically to alert a user of the mobile station of the occurrence of a selected triggering event at a transaction service provider device. In one implementation, the user of the mobile station is automatically notified of a debit or credit to the user""s bank account. Notification is made automatically, without need for the user to make inquiry to the transaction service provider device.
Advancements in communication technologies have permitted the introduction of, and popularization of, new types of communication systems. As a result of such advancements, increasingly large amounts of data are permitted to be communicated at increasing thruput rates through the use of such new communication systems. And, as a result of such improvements, new types of communication services, requiring high data thruput rates, are possible.
Technological advancements have permitted the use of digital communication techniques to effectuate the communication of data during operation of various communication systems.
A radio communication system is exemplary of a type of communication system which has benefited from advancements in communication technologies and the use of digital communication techniques. In a radio communication system, at least a portion of a communication path formed during communications therein includes a radio link. Improved communication mobility is provided through the use of a radio communication system as communication channels defined upon the radio link in such a system are formed of radio channels and do not require wireline connections for their formation. The portion of the communication system which includes the radio link is sometimes referred to as the radio part of the communication system.
Digital communication techniques have been utilized in radio communication systems, thereby permitting improvement of communication capacities in such systems as well as permitting the implementation of new communication services. For instance, various cellular communication standards have been promulgated, and corresponding cellular systems have been implemented, which are predicated upon the use of digital communication techniques. The GSM (global system for mobile communications) cellular communication system is exemplary of a digital cellular communication system. The GSM, cellular communication system also provides for SMS (short message service) signaling between a mobile station operable in such a system and the corresponding network infrastructure thereof.
Digital communication techniques have also fostered the widespread use of networks, such as the Internet and local area networks. Large amounts of data, typically formatted into frames or packets, are communicated by way of such networks to effectuate communication of data between sending and receiving stations operable therein. By formatting the digital data into packets or frames, the data can be communicated at discrete intervals upon a communication channel by a sending station. Once received at a receiving station, the packets or frames of data are concatenated together to recreate the informational content of the digital bits of which the packets or frames are formed.
Cellular, and other, radio communication systems have been proposed, or are already implemented, which permit wireless network communication by way of a mobile station. Multi-media services, messaging services, distribution services, dispatching services, and retrieval services, such as pursuant to the World Wide Web (WWW) of the Internet are all possible for the use of such a mobile station. A protocol, referred to as the wireless application protocol (WAP) has been promulgated, and mobile stations operable pursuant to such protocol facilitate the efficient communication of data formatted for transmission by way of the Internet.
Additional, new services are possible by way of a mobile station. operable pursuant to the WAP. A large number of different type consumer transactions can be effectuated by way of such a mobile station.
Conventional, consumer transactions are effectuable remotely by way of telephonic, both wireline, and non-wireline, communications. Conventional voice prompting and DTMF (dual tone multi frequency) tonal generation is utilized to effectuate such conventional transactions remotely. Banking transactions, such as bill payment by phone, are commonplace.
Also, various online banking services, such as balance inquiries, viewing of personal loan installments, stock transactions, and bill payments are available to a customer. A customer equipped with a personal computer, connected to the Internet or to a PSTN (public-switched telephonic network) via a conventional telephone, wireline or otherwise, is able to partake of such online banking services. But, various problems sometimes interfere with the performance of such services. Computer configuration difficulties, unreliable Internet connections, and high equipment costs interfere with, or prevent customer use of, such services. Also, such services can sometimes be effectuated utilizing DTMF tone generation from a telephonic keypad. But DTMF tone generation typically requires user entry of long numerical sequences.
And, conventional transaction services are generally user-initiated. That is to say, a user effectuating a remote transaction telephonically must typically initiate the effectuation of the transaction service.
The conventional requirement that a user initiate the remote transaction service prevents the possibility of implementation of nonuser-initiated services.
If a manner will provide a means by which to permit automatic, nonuser effectuation of a transaction service remotely, additional services would be possible.
It is in light of this background information related to the performance of transaction services by way of a radio communication system that the significant improvements of the present invention have evolved.
The present invention, accordingly, advantageously provides apparatus, and an associated method, by which automatically to alert a user of a mobile station of the occurrence of a triggering event at a remote location. Notification to the user is made automatically, without need for the user to inquire of the transaction.
In one aspect of the present invention, apparatus is provided for a transaction service provider coupled to a network part of a communication system in which a mobile station is operable to communicate therethrough. During operation, upon the occurrence of a triggering event, a notification message is generated and automatically sent to the mobile station. A storage element stores indicia of one or more triggering events. Monitoring of operations of the transaction service provider is performed by a triggering event detector to detect the occurrence of any of the one or more triggering events stored at the storage element. When any of the triggering events is detected, a notification message is generated indicative of the occurrence, and the message is sent to the mobile station.
In another aspect of the present invention, apparatus is provided for a mobile station operable in a radio communication system. During operation, the mobile station is able to detect the notification message and to alert a user of the mobile station of the notification message sent thereto and identifying the occurrence of one or more triggering events. A detector is coupled to receive indications of reception at the mobile station of the notification message at the mobile station. An alerting transducer is operable responsive to detection by the message detector of reception of the notification message at the mobile station. The transducer generates an audio signal to alert the user of the mobile station of the occurrence of the triggering event. When a notification message is generated for more than one triggering event, a different audio signal is generated for each of the more than one triggering events, thereby to distinguish between the different triggering events.
In one implementation, notification is made to a user of a mobile station of a transaction of a banking service-related event, such as a debit or a credit, to an account associated with the user of the mobile station. When a credit is made to the user""s account, a first notification message is generated. And, when a debit is made to the user""s account, a second notification message is generated. Other triggering events can also be monitored and corresponding notification messages generated. The notification message is communicated to the mobile station over a mobile link, thereby to be received at the mobile station.
When the notification message is detected at the mobile station, an audio signal is generated to alert the user of the mobile station of the occurrence of the debit or credit to the user""s account. Different audio signals are generated, depending upon whether the notification message indicates a debit or credit to the user""s account.
In an exemplary implementation, the triggering events are selectable by the user of the mobile station by way of user actuation of an actuation keypad of the mobile station. A user of the mobile station selects which triggering events are to be stored at the transaction service provider device, and a message is generated indicative of such selection and transmitted to the transaction service provider device. Thereafter, indicia indicating the selection is stored at the storage device thereof. In another implementation, the triggering events are selected by the transaction service provider. And, in another implementation, the triggering events are mobile-station specific. That is, the triggering events are associated with the mobile station, such as pursuant to a service subscription, rather than user-specified.
The mobile station, in one implementation, is a WAP (wireless application protocol) phone operable in a GSM (global system for mobile communications) network which provides for SMS (short message service) messaging by way of a short message service center (SMSC). A transaction service provider server is coupled to an X.25 packet-switched network to which the SMSC is also coupled. When a triggering event is detected at the transaction server provider, a notification message is routed through the X.25 network to the short message service center. And, in turn, an SMS message is routed through network infrastructure of the GSM network and then over a radio link to the WAP phone. When detected at the WAP phone, an audio alert is generated to alert the user of the WAP phone of the occurrence of the triggering event.
Thereby, automatic notification is made to the user of the WAP phone of the occurrence of the triggering event at the transaction service provider without specific inquiry or initiation by the user of the WAP phone.
In these and other aspects, therefore, apparatus, and a corresponding method, is provided for a transaction service provider device operable in a radio communication system. The radio communication system has a radio part including a mobile station and radio network infrastructure and also a network part to which the transaction service provider device is coupled. A communication path is formable between the transaction service provider device and the mobile station. A notification message is automatically sent to the mobile station responsive to a triggering event. The triggering event storage element is provided for storing indicia identifying at least one triggering event. A triggering event detector is coupled to detect occurrences at the transaction service provider device of the at least one triggering event. A notification message generator is coupled to the triggering event detector. The notification message generator generates the notification message when the triggering event detector detects the occurrence of the at least one triggering event.
In these and other aspects, further apparatus, and an associated method, is provided for a mobile station operable in the radio communication system. The apparatus alerts a user of the mobile station of the notification message sent to the mobile station. A notification message detector is coupled to receive indications of reception of the notification message at the mobile station. An alerting transducer is coupled to the notification message detector. The alerting transducer generates an alert, in human perceptible form, responsive to detection by the notification message detector of the reception of the notification message at the mobile station.
A more complete description of the present invention and the scope thereof can be obtained from the accompanying drawings, which are briefly summarized below, the following detailed description of the presently-preferred of the embodiments of the invention, and the appended claims.